The Chicago Bears haven’t had much success coming off the bye week in recent history, but new head coach Ben Johnson is looking to rewrite that narrative when they face the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football in Week 6.

The last four Bears head coaches don’t have a winning record coming off the bye week. Matt Eberflus went 1-2; Matt Nagy went 0-4; John Fox went 0-3; and Marc Trestman was 1-1. The last time a Bears head coach had success off the bye week was Lovie Smith, who went 6-3 in his nine-year tenure. So how does Johnson avoid following in his recent predecessors footsteps?

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This week, Johnson was asked about preparing after the bye week, where he said there’s no special process and it’s all about focusing on the task at hand.

“I don’t know if there’s any secret sauce to it, to be honest with you. These guys, I’m pretty pleased with how they approached it. I don’t think a whole lot of them went out to Cancun and went partying or anything like that (laughter). I think a lot of them stayed local and they just wanted to get their bodies right, wanted to get sleep back in order. So they should be feeling fresh right now. We had a couple extra route sessions, but that’s as much conditioning as it is just being on the same page, hooking up.

“But each week’s its own deal. I would love to have another 40 point game, but it’s one of those things you just never know. We have to go earn it. We have to have a great week here in terms of our preparation, and then we have to go out and execute, hopefully better than we have the previous four weeks. That’s what we’re looking to do. I really don’t think of anything coming off the bye or anything like that. We’re on to the next one.”

The secret to winning off the bye week? Preparation, according to Johnson, like any other week. But the bye week did provide the opportunity for rest and healing, and Chicago is expected to get back some injured starters, including cornerback Kyler Gordon, which should help. The Bears face a tall order against the Commanders in prime time, where they’ll need to be at their best to pull off the road upset.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Ben Johnson discusses preparation after bye week